Game of Thrones kicks off its second season by reminding us that "The North Remembers"

HBOStannins' (Stephen Dillane) council is a motley crew, and one less thanks to Cressen's brash behavior.

It almost doesn't feel real, huh?

After a very, very long year of waiting, Game of Thrones has finally returned to HBO. Creators and writers D.B. Weiss and David Benioff had a lot of momentum from the spectacular final two episodes to the first season to carry over into season two. How did the premiere stack up? Read on to find out.

Game of Thrones is in an odd position for a television show. The considerable fanbase of the books on which the series is based have vastly different expectations than those who are exclusively fans of the show. This puts season two in an awkward place, as it has to satisfy those looking for short-term payoffs as well as maintain faithful to the original books. And so, we get the season two premiere. As expected, quite a few new characters were introduced - some more important than others - and many different plots are already well on their way. Let's dive into a couple, shall we?

I'll start where the episode started. Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson), or Lannister, if you prefer, is still an evil little bastard. On his nameday (birthday), he is holding a tournament where his knights fight to the death for his entertainment. We see The Hound (Rory McCann) brutally kill some poor, nameless knight. It was smart to start off the season on a physical fight that ended in blood, because it reminded us just how cold the show can be.

Next on the list is Ser Dontos (Tony Way), who drunkenly stumbles late to his fight. Big mistake. Just as Joffrey is ready to let the man drown in wine, Sansa (Sophie Turner) saves the man's life. I liked a lot about this moment. This isn't the last we see of Dontos, but it was even more impressive to watch how Sansa has gradually learned to navigate the harsh waters of dealing with Joffrey. Sansa still has a lot of growing to do while she is surrounded by the dangerous Lannisters, but clearly she is on the right path.

Of course, we can't start in King's Landing and not show Tyrion (Emmy Winner Peter Dinklage) arriving to claim his spot as Hand of the King. Predictably, Tyrion had some great moments in his short screen time, as he practically brushed past Joffrey and chastised his sister all within a few short minutes. I love the Tyrion/Cersei (Lena Heady) power struggle that plays out throughout this season, but I'm a little concerned that the writers may choose to fall back on fan-favorite Dinklage to carry a good deal of the show. We are going to be dealing with a lot of characters that are hard to root for, but it would be a mistake to allow Tyrion to become the true protagonist of the series. This has to remain an ensemble, and other members of the cast need to be able to shine as much, if not more than, Dinklage does.

From King's Landing, we swing all the way up north to Winterfell, where Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) is dealing with the monotony of lording over the land while Robb (Richard Madden) is out fighting a war. Putting this scene so close to the earlier scenes with Joffrey provided good juxtaposition of the difference sound guidance can make on a ruler. Bran is no doubt just as impatient as Joffrey, although not nearly as cruel. Maester Luwin (Donald Sumpter), though not only handles a good deal of the politicking, but he explains to Bran why things have to be a certain way. If only Cersei had raised Joffrey like this, things would be much different for the entire Kingdom. We also got a quick look at Bran's dreams, which play a big part in the series. He dreams he is his direwolf, Summer. What this turns into, we will have to wait and see, but it is something to pay attention to as things move forward.

Now we move across the Narrow Sea to find Dany (Emilia Clarke) and her small Khalasar struggling to even stay on their feet. The moments with Dany in this episode were short and unremarkable, but it was sad to see her horse die. What was truly disappointing, though, was the CG on her dragon.This will come up again when we talk about Robb's direwolf, but the CG in this show is just shy of being good. If you look at Dany's sightline, she isn't looking right at her dragon, but somewhere just next to him. Of course, the CG is still better than what most television shows can manage, but considering how impressive the rest of Game of Thrones looks, it certainly stands out.

In continuing with the theme of placing opposite scenes next to each other, we went from the Red Wastes to North of the Wall, where the Night's Watch came upon their first wildling. To be fair, Craster (Robert Pugh) is as light of a wildling as possible, as he deals so often with the Night's Watch that he practically lives as someone south of the wall. Of course, his civilized nature ends there, as the man is surrounded by a countless amount of his own daughters, which he in turn marries. We got to meet Gilly (Hannah Murray), but not by name. She is the wife/daughter that Craster grabs and forces to recite some verse to the Night's Watch. Jon Snow (Kit Harington) didn't do much this episode, except annoy Craster, but we'll have to wait and see what's in store for him.

It took a while, but just after the scenes north of The Wall, we finally got to meet Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane), along with Maester Cressen (Oliver Ford Davies), Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham), and Melisandre (Carice van Houten). This is one of the largest, and most important groups of people this season. Of course Cressen dies at the end of the episode when he tries to poison Melisandre, who is mysteriously fine after drinking the same liquid that killed him. The other three, though, are ones to watch. Stannis has the most legitimate claim to the Iron Throne, and he hopes that at least one of the other leaders will swear fealty to him, to bolster his troops and to take what is rightfully his. Melisandre is just one of the obstacles in his way, though, as we learn she is a Red Priestess, which is some sort of nu-age religion in Westeros. The mere act of burning the statues of the Old Gods would shock many of the other men Stannis hopes to control, which will make any conquest difficult. I thought Dillane made a great Stannis so far, and I enjoyed the simplicity with which he gave his commands and dictated a letter.

Then, there's Robb. His story is perhaps the greatest unknown in the series, as he is never a point-of-view character in the books. While George R.R. Martin chose to focus on Catelyn (Michelle Fairley), it will be interesting to see how things play out on Robb's side of things instead. Already, he is proving confident and intelligent, able to hold his own with Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) in a sparring of words, and when it comes to strategizing for the war. Once again, the CG on Robb's direwolf could have been better, but just about every other moment with him was outstanding. Even though Cat protests a good deal of his choices, he holds firm to what he believes is the best way to win the war. As to whether or not any of his plans work remains to be seen, but it will be fun to watch them play out either way.

Finally, things come full circle. Back in King's Landing, we get a great moment where Cersei slaps Joffrey for being an all-around terrible human being. Not like we need any reminding, but Joffrey is the worst type of king - one who feeds off of the power, but doesn't know how to use it for anything other than his own desires. This is too much for even the awful Cersei Lannister. If she doesn't control her son soon, things will only get worse for everyone in the realm.

And then there are the final scenes of the episode. I enjoyed the way Cersei proved to Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen) that she has the most perceivable power, but we all know there is more truth to the idea that "Knowledge is power," as Littlefinger stated. Watching him get shaken up when he thought she was going to have him killed was a great moment that wasn't in the books, though.

Of course, Cersei does still have power, which she chooses to exercise when she orders all of Robert's (Mark Addy) bastard children killed. It turns out he had a lot; ranging from young adults to infants. It was pretty brutal to watch all of these people killed in cold blood, and we could already see unrest growing amongst the citizens of Kings Landing. So far, the Lannisters have ruled without any regard to their subjects, which is something Tyrion is meant to rectify.

There we have it. One down, nine to go. This was a great start to what is sure to be an outstanding season. It will take new viewers a few episodes to understand who each character is, and what role they are going to play, but once things get going, expect to wish each episode were just ten minutes longer. Next week will introduce House Greyjoy, and no doubt throw a few monkey wrenches into the mix as far as everyone's plans are concerned. For now, though, we can only speculate.

What did you think of the season two premier of Game of Thrones? Feel free to comment below, but keep in mind that fans of the show may not have read the books. I will delete any comments that may spoil the series for those people, so be mindful when you post. Thanks for reading. See you all next week!